Recruiting Report: Josh Kihle (2018)
It doesn’t take long to notice Josh Kihle on the basketball court. While basketball may be downsizing as a whole, throwback true centers are still incredibly valuable. Kihle is exactly that.
the 6-foot-9 center from Burke County, N.D., spent the grassroots season playing with ND Phenom, one of the top AAU programs in the Dakotas and while the team didn’t always have its full complement of players, Kihle made the most of his opportunities.
“It went really good actually,” Kihle said of the AAU season. “Was expecting to go a little better but we had a new group of guys. Most of the summer we didn’t have everybody. It went pretty good considering that stuff. It was a lot of fun. I’ve played with a bunch of these guys before, we had a lot of times though where we didn’t have our regular guys so we had to have guys fill in spots. It’s hard for us to get together and practice all the time so a lot of the time we were just out there playing.”
They don’t make a lot of big men like Kihle, who is all of 6-foot-9 with a broad frame. He doesn’t get an opportunity to go against big men of his caliber all that often, so playing AAU ball was great for his development.
“It helps me work on what I need to work on,” said Kihle. “Playing against other talented big guys helps me get better and forces me to compete at a higher level. It really helps me develop my post game going against guys like that. It was really valuable for my development.”
When Kihle establishes low post position, he’s virtually unguardable. He’s got good footwork on the block and a soft touch around the rim. And with a big frame and long arms, he provides guards a lot of margin for error on post entries.
Kihle’s also extended his shooting range, though he doesn’t showcase that part of his game a whole lot. He’s more mobile than it would appear at first glance as well.
There’s a lot to like about his game, and college coaches have certainly noticed.
“University of Sioux Falls, Valley City, Jamestown, a couple others here and there have recruited me,” Kihle said. “I’m planning on scheduling some visits sometime in the fall. I’m so far away from a lot of schools – the closest one to me is roughly four hours away so finding time has been tough but it’s worth it. Should be getting visits lined up with Dakota State sometime late August into September. Working on some others as well.”